Better than Ointment
by InosBane
Summary: Yoshino's attempt to play matchmaker for Gaara has failed miserably...now what? Companion to Kashike's Medicine. Gaara
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Thanks to Yumi-Maki, who encouraged me to write more Gaara. This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter featuring the Godaime Kazekage. I'm hoping he's not too OOC. Ties in with other stories, predominately **Kashike's Medicine**. I would encourage reading that first, but it's not necessary.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story other than a few minor but necessary OCs. (Kashike is **NOT** an OC, Masashi Kishimoto owns her too.)

**Chapter: 1**

The Kazekage leaned back in his chair, stretched his arms above his head, and one by one popped the knuckles on each of his fingers. His eyes strayed to the mountain of unopened gifts from fangirls, a frown marring his features. He'd have to do something about it soon, a few of them were starting to smell. He turned to gaze upon the mountain of paperwork in front of him, but the only thing he reached for was the letter that had arrived from Konoha.

His sister had been married for two months now, and was finally settled in a small house on the Nara family's property. According to Temari, her mother-in-law, Nara Yoshino was recovering nicely. In fact, the nightmares had all but ceased, and she was starting to bug Temari's friend Tenten, about finding a husband. Gaara shook his head and smiled tightly. It was matchmaking that had caused the woman's injuries in the first place.

o-o-o

Immediately following Temari and Shikamaru's wedding, Yoshino had accompanied Gaara and Kankuro back to Sunagakure. She had decided, that as Kazekage, it was Gaara's duty to fall in love and have children as soon as possible. Considering herself something of a matchmaker, Yoshino had decided that she would be the one to help speed things along. That decision had come to a tragic end, when the trio had passed through the village gates and were mobbed by a horde of rabid fangirls. Gaara's sand formed a shield but not fast enough, two girls had somehow managed to dodge the shield and trample Yoshino in their quest to reach the Kazekage. Kankuro had barely managed to get the woman off the ground when a second wave asssaulted them from behind. The Puppet-Nin was knocked to the ground on top of Yoshino, who suffered three cracked ribs, a broken arm, a fractured skull, and various cuts and bruises.

A month later, when she was up to traveling, the Kazekage bid Yoshino goodbye in his office, everyone agreeing that it would be safest for her still fragile bones. After thanking him for the care she'd received, Yoshino took Gaara's hands in her own and looked at him pleadingly.

"Gaara-chan," she whispered. "These fangirls, none of them would make a very good wife, and any children they gave you would be rotten. Find a woman who respects you enough to let you find her. But," she paused, a familiar gleam in her eyes. "If you should change your mind and decide you want a wife from Konoha stock, well," she smiled widely. "Temari-chan's friend Tenten is a lovely girl ne? You remember her, she was Temari-chan's bridesmaid."

"Hai Obasan," Gaara nodded, his expression softening, this woman was truly the closest thing he had to a mother . "Naruhodo, but I will find a wife from my own village."

Yoshino shrugged and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Over her shoulder Gaara saw her husband, Nara Shikaku roll his eyes while Kankuro grinned. Both of them previous victims of her matchmaking.

Yoshino put her hands on his shoulders and looked deeply in his eyes, "You are a good boy Gaara-chan. I know you'll make the right decision. Just make sure I get lots and lots of grandchildren as soon as possible. My Shika-chan promised me he'd work on it, and here they are married a month with nothing to show for it," she sighed. "I just don't think they're trying very hard. But I know you will. Ganbatte ne!"

Gaara felt his cheeks grow warm as she hugged him, her back to Shikaku and Kankuro who were crying with silent laughter.

o-o-o

He put the letter down. He'd never been called a "good boy" ever in his life until that day. Thinking of Yoshino made him think about his mother, and as he often did, he wondered if she would have held him the way Yoshino did. If she would have called him a "good boy".

His chair creaked as he stood up. He closed the curtains at the window, and made his way to the futon in the far corner of his office. Since Shukaku's removal, Gaara had begun exploring the idea of sleep by catnapping. An hour or two here, a half hour there. He lay on his back staring at the bit of ceiling that his sister had painted blue with a few fluffy Konoha clouds. As his eyes grew heavy, Yoshino's words echoed in his semi-conscious brain.

"Find a woman who respects you enough to allow you to find her." Not for the first time, his eyes focused on a grubby little package on his bookshelf before closing completely.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Because Kashike is a lesser character in Naruto, I am having to create a world for her to live in that I hope is palatable for yal.

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone/thing in this story except my OC's, and I guess I don't even really **own** them...if I did they'd be capable of doing chores.

**Chapter: 2  
**

Shimizu Nariko enjoyed her sleep. After slaving all day in her father's grocery store, she liked nothing better than coming home to her small apartment, eating a quick supper, soaking in the tub and then going to sleep. She did **not** enjoy being roused from her slumber by someone pounding on the door. Unfortunately, in the past eight months this had happened several times, and she knew exactly who it was.

"Not again..." she sighed, leaving the warmth of her bed, and the pleasant dream featuring a certain shinobi, for what she knew was going to be quite a while.

When she opened the door she wasn't surprised to find Kashike standing there battered and bruised, looking as though she'd just gotten back from a mission.

"Kashike, doushita no?" She stood aside as her best friend entered, already knowing the answer. Arakaki Raiden had been "mistaking" Kashike for a training dummy since he failed to become a jonin for the fifth time. Nariko watched her friend sit down at the kitchen table and took in the black eye and swollen lip. Kashike met Nariko's eyes and grinned.

"He'll never do this again," she said simply.

Nariko rolled her eyes as she walked to the freezer and handed her friend an ice pack.

"What's different this time? Did you break his fingers?" When the only reply was a wider grin on Kashike's face, Nariko's jaw dropped. "Sou na!?"

Kashike laughed. "His fingers **and** his wrists. That yarou will never touch me again."

"Sugoi!" Nariko shouted, "It's about time..." she paused, noting the look in her friend's good eye. "Shinpai na, of course you can stay here. I never thought you should live with that baka to begin with."

o-o-o

The next morning Kashike stared at her reflection in the mirror. Raiden hadn't gotten in a very good hit, so her eye was only slightly swollen. Her lip...was another story. She ran her hands through her chin length hair trying to inconspicuously cover her right eye. Tying her hitai-ite into place, she took in the overall effect. It wasn't half bad. She'd seen other Jonins dress this way. _Male_ Jonins, she reminded herself with a sigh. She reached into a drawer that had been cleared for her things, pulled out a small jar of ointment and rubbed it carefully onto her lips.

"Yarou..." she muttered applying a dark shade of lipstick over the ointment blending the two.

She was meeting her first ever genin squad today. How would it appear to them if she showed up looking like she'd had her ass handed to her with a side of wasabi? She studied herself one last time before setting off for the Academy, and decided that she could always make up some exciting story of a mission to the wastelands of Fire Country. Too bad she was a horrible liar.

o-o-o

"Ohayou gozaimasu Kashike-sensei." The Jonin was greeted by the Academy's secretary as she walked into the office to retrieve her squad's files. "You're cutting it close you know, the Kazekage has requested a meeting with all the jonin instructors in room ninety-seven." The older woman glanced up at the clock before smiling. "here's the files on each of your students. A fine group I think, though you might want to watch out for that Murakami Yukio. He can be a bit...high-spirited."

Kashike hadn't taken in a single word after "Kazekage". This is just perfect, she thought. They hadn't seen eachother face to face since they were six years old. Would he remember her? Did he get the medicine? Did he understand that she was asking for his forgiveness? That she wanted him to know she believed in him?

The Jonin was so lost in thought that the secretary had to force the files into her hand.

"Daijoubu ka?" The older woman asked as Kashike blinked grasping the files.

"Hai," came the soft reply.

"Anou, you'd better hurry, don't forget now, room ninety-seven." The secretary started ushering her out of the office and into the hall. "The demon may not be inside him anymore, but I imagine he's still got a bit of a monster side to him."

"He's not a monster..." Kashike replied as the door slammed in her face. When she turned to look at the hall clock she gave a start and began running up the corridor and outside to the adjacent building where she would find room ninety-seven. She was three minutes late and counting. Even if she didn't believe for a minute that Sabaku no Gaara was a monster, it still didn't bode well for a Jonin to annoy the Kazekage.

o-o-o

"Since some of you were among the last to attend the Academy under the Yondaime's administration, you might not be fully aware of the new curriculum that has been put into place here..." Gaara paused and turned as the classroom door creaked open and a young woman entered. She bowed to him.

"Shitsure shimasu Kazekage-sama. There were unforseen circumstances that prevented me from arriving earlier."

The pale green eyes considered the newcomer for a moment. He could hear Kankuro's voice in his head dripping with sarcasm, asking how anything could be seen, let alone **for**seen with her hair hanging in her face like that. Unfortunately, Gaara still wasn't very good with sarcasm. People still tended to take him seriously and faint dead away whenever he tried it. Plus, he could detect a faint bruising on the right side of her nose. She was hiding an injury.

"Naruhodo," he nodded. "Please join the others."

The Kazekage's speech only lasted fifteen minutes. He wanted the newer Jonin Instructors to understand the advances that had been made at the Academy since the implementaion of the newest Konoha curriculum. Kashike noticed other Jonins nodding and smiling while one or two still looked upon the Kazekage with a mix of fear and anger. She was impressed by the quiet strength of the Kazekage's voice, and the way he seemed to exude confidence. There was no trace of the lonely little boy he'd been.

Once he'd finished, the other Jonin began filing out to meet their squads, but Kashike took her time gathering her files until it was just she and the Kazekage in the room. He looked at her curiously and she suddenly became very nervous. What the hell was she doing?

"I um, just wanted to apologize again for arriving late Kazekage-sama," she bowed. "It will never happen again."

"How did you receive your injury?"

Her good eye widenend. Was it that obvious?

"Er, I um, tripped Kazekage-sama."

He cocked a transparent eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of him.

"You tripped and fell onto someone's outstretched fist ne?"

Shimatta! She knew she couldn't lie, **EVERYONE** knew she couldn't lie, what possessed her to prove it to the Kazekage!

"Hai, Kazekage-sama."

"Lift your hair off your face Jonin-san."

Not wishing to make things worse for herself, Kashike did as she was told. When Gaara saw her eye, he frowned.

"Were you the victor?"

"Hai Kazekage-sama."

"Good, because that's not a very impressive wound, and I can't have Sunagakure's kunoichi being defeated by something so paltry." He stated simply.

Kashike tried to swallow but her mouth was dry as she croaked "Hai Kazekage-sama."

"What's your name Jonin-san?"

"Ito Kashike, Kazekage-sama."

There was a brief flash of recognition in his eyes before Gaara nodded and started walking towards the door. He stopped just outside the room and turned to face her again.

"It's a minor injury, but you would still do well to put some ointment on it. Kashike-san."

Gaara continued down the hall leaving a dumbfounded kunoichi staring after him.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Featuring Gaara acting like a politician...

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story...but I am trotting out a few OC's.

**Chapter: 3**

Later that afternoon, Gaara was finishing off a letter to his sister, while Kankuro had his feet propped up on the Kazekage's desk dictating his own comments, when there was a knock at the door.

"Nakahehairu," Gaara said quietly not looking up.

Kankuro turned to see their former squad leader, Baki, walk in. He paused midstride examining the mountain of gifts.

"Gaara-sama," he bowed. "Something really needs to be done about this," he pointed to the pile. "This thing looks about ready to fall."

"The problem," Kankuro stated, "is that more come in every day. And not just one or two. Ten or twelve. It's never ending."

Baki scratched his chin, eyeing a few gifts perched precariously at the top. One, a shiny black parcel studded with small spikes looked more like a weapon meant to kill, than a gift of love and admiration.

"You know Gaara-sama," he said meeting the Kazekage's eyes. "We have an unusually large group of genin. We could assign a few of them to come in and throw all this stuff out."

Gaara shook his head.

"Iie Baki-san, some of those are from other villages. It could damage relations if I didn't at least send a note of thanks."

"Chotto matte," Kankuro sat up removing his feet from the desk. "If we could get the genin to write down the names and addresses, Gaara could write a general thank you note and we could send a copy to each person." he grinned at his brother, "I'll lend you some cologne to splash on each page, that'll satisfy even the most rabid fangirl."

"Now you're thinking like public officials," Baki nodded his approval.

o-o-o

Because the idea of working in the Kazekage's office was appealing to so many genin, it was decided that each squad would spend three days on the task. Kankuro was given the job of actually opening the "gifts" in a separate room. Gaara reasoned that even if they **were **genin, they were still children for the most part. He knew that there were bound to be things in those packages that were way over **his **head, and could possibility even make Kankuro blush. There were plenty enough things in the world that could scar a person for life, the contents of a fangirl's gift didn't need to be one of them.

Once opened, the packages were to be divided into three groups: teddy bears and other stuffed animals were to be distributed between the children's ward at the Sunagakure hospital and the home for war orphans. Anything like cologne, or unused clothing went to the poorest citizens, but any "used" clothing, items that were too mature for Gaara's sensibilities, or even just considered "weird" were to be burned.

The genins seemed to enjoy this assignment even if it was tedious and classified as D with the slightest hint of C due to the presence of the Kazekage. The few who were already thinking about the title for themselves took special interest in asking him questions during their breaks, and Gaara would answer truthfully. Most were already comfortable around him due to his frequent visits to the Academy, where though he rarely smiled, he was always encouraging.

On their first day, Kashike and her squad had bowed before their eyes had the opportunity to take in the task ahead.

"Shimatta..." Murakami Yukio breathed. "Where do we start?"

Gaara, who was still learning how to identify rhetorical questions, shrugged.

"I'd advise you to start at the top. If you dig too deeply into the bottom you'll bring the whole thing down upon us."

The trio of genin blinked, not sure if he was playing or not. Gaara considered them for a moment before turning to Kashike.

"Kashike-san, would you please introduce your squad to me?"

"Hai Kazekage-sama," Kashike bowed before whispering to her genin, "When I say your name, step forward."

"Oshiro Kanji." A small boy with black hair and blue eyes confidently stepped forward and gave a deep bow.

"Tanaka Umeko." A girl with curly brown hair and fishnet covering both arms stepped forward and bowed.

"Murakami Yukio." The boy who'd cursed when he saw the packages stepped forward. He was tall, solidly built with a long black ponytail and wide set brown eyes. He grinned at the Kazekage as he bowed. The boy's smile reminded Gaara of one of the few people he called "friend".

"Very good." Gaara bowed to the group. "As you know, you'll be going through these packages and writing down the names and addresses of the sender. You are not to open them, and I strongly caution you against letting your curiosity cloud your judgement. A Genin from squad two failed to heed my warning and suffered an allergic reaction to some perfume. That was over a week ago, and he's still in the hospital."

Yukio giggled and nudged Umeko.

"So that's what happened to Isas-kun!" He smirked, "you can stop worrying that your kiss had anything to do with it. Though you might not want to wear perfume around him now."

"Yukio!" Kashike hissed, shoving a clipboard into the boy's hands as Umeko blushed a deep crimson. "You will hold your tongue and get straight to work!"

The boy nodded silently, and grabbed a floral print package from the top. Reading the name on the tag caused him to grin wickedly.

"Kanji. Psssst! Kanji, isn't this from your sister?"

o-o-o

Every two hours Kankuro would appear and remove the packages they had sorted. He would also use that time to report to Gaara what he'd opened from the previous batch. Sometimes he'd just say out loud the number of teddy bears or requests for Gaara to father a child, which was enough for Yoshino to be swimming in grandchildren. Other times, he'd hand his brother a piece of paper. At one point, Gaara started to ask for clarification of something when an ashen-faced Kankuro stopped him, promising to explain it later. Kashike, who'd been watching the exchange looked quickly away when Gaara met her eyes.

After several hours, The Kazekage announced that it was time to take a break. He informed the squad that if they went to the dining room they would find lunch prepared and waiting for them.

"Sugoi!" Yukio exclaimed standing and stretching his back.

"Domo arigatou gozaimasu Kazekage-sama." Oshiro Kanji said bowing.

Gaara responded with a small smile.

"Take your time and relax, I'll see you in a few hours."

"But Kazekage-sama, aren't you going to eat anything?" Kashike asked as her squad headed out the door.

"Iie, right now I'm going to take a nap."

"Do you need anything before I leave? Is there anything I can do for you?" Kashike could feel the pale green eyes searching hers.

"I'd like you to stop being so nervous around me. Start using my name. I understand why you feel the way you do, but I'm not the same person I was when I was six," he said quietly.

Kashike couldn't bear to look at him just then. He remembered just as well as she did.

"Hai Gaara-sama," she whispered. "I'll try."

The jonin bowed and left the room.

Gaara ran his hands through his hair and sighed. He knew he made her nervous, at least face to face. She'd been able to deliver a package for him, but could barely look him in the eye. She wasn't the only one. He knew he made several members of the council nervous, as well as a few shop-keepers. He even made his brother-in-law nervous from time to time, though Kankuro assured him that he should consider that fun.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: It's Kashike's turn to receive a present. ( And just in case you didn't already know...the flu sucks!) The Japanese words in this chapter that aren't honorifics are curse words.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters...

**Chapter: 4**

Over the course of the next few days, Kashike tried to not show her nervousness around the Kazekage. For his part, Gaara tried to be more accessible towards the jonin. He wanted her to see that he wasn't the same person he'd been. That he'd changed. Thus far, it had only mattered that his family and a few close friends saw him that way on a personal level. But Kashike was different, she had been the only one he'd reached out to as a child, and for some reason, her approval was important to him now. The changes in the pair's behavior were evident to the genin, but the only one who felt the need to point it out was Yukio. He brought it up over lunch on their last day, only to receive a cold glare from the eyes of the Kazekage. A fear gripped him such as he'd never known, and he immediately brought up the fact that Kankuro's behavior had also changed. The deeper they delved into the pile of gifts, the less and less Kankuro was saying, while his notes were getting longer and longer.

Before they left on the final afternoon, Gaara praised the genin for their hardwork. They'd knocked a third off the mountain of gifts-more than any other group before them, and he told them that if they continued to exhibit such dedication to their missions, and such good teamwork, that they'd be ready for the chuunin exams before too long. Kashike beamed with pride, especially when the Kazekage told them that they had an excellent leader and that they should pay attention to what she said. Bowing as she left his office, Kashike smiled at the Kazekage. He smiled back, a real smile.

It was with a sense of pride and contentment that Kashike walked into her apartment that afternoon. As she made her way into the kitchen, something shiny caught her eye. She walked over to the counter where a small but elaborately wrapped gift sat with her name on the envelope. She allowed herself a moment to wonder who it could be from as she held her breath and reached for the card. Her hands trembled and she closed her eyes as she pulled it from the envelope. When she saw the name her face fell and she exhaled in a whoosh.

Love,  
Raiden

"Yarou..." she grumbled, tossing the unopened gift into the trash before continuing down the hall to take a shower. It suddenly seemd a lot colder.

Stepping into the spray she wondered how she could have been so stupid. Hai, the Kazekage remembered her, but it's not like they were very **good** memories. She'd called him a monster just like everyone else. True, he smiled at her, but he was more prone to smiling now, it didn't make her special. They still barely knew eachother, maybe one day they could be friends. She was certainly not ready for anything more than that right now. Besides, to even think about the Kazekage in **that** light...she was completely baka!

As for Raiden, she sighed, turning her face into the water. Logically, she should have realized that any gift would be from him, he always gave her a gift after he hit her. But why now? A month away from him had shown her just how damaging that relationship had been for her. She was just starting to build up the confidence he'd chipped away at for so long. Why the sudden reappearance? Hadn't she made it clear that she was done with him?

She got out and padded down the hallway. She could hear voices in the livingroom, one was Nariko, the other was...shimatta...

"Now that she's had a chance to cool her heels, I'm sure Kashike will be ecstatic that I'm allowing her to come back home."

Even though she couldn't see his face, Kashike knew that Raiden was wearing an expression of disdain. He hated anything that could be considered lower class, his own house being in one of the wealthier districts. She clung to the wall as she quietly made her way towards the living room. Raiden had his back to her, and Nariko was facing him.

"To be honest, I'm actually quite surprised that she hasn't asked to come home before now, but then she's probably too ashamed of her behavior. I'm always telling her how unattractive her temper is." He glanced down at his watch, "what time are you expecting her back?"

By this time Nariko had noticed Kashike standing behind the wall. She motioned with her head in a "get the hell out of here" fashion before smiling at Raiden.

"Not for another few hours, are you sure you want to wait here?"

Kashike mouthed her thanks, then quickly and quietly as possible went to her room, got dressed, and took off out of the window.

o-o-o

Wandering the streets of Sunagakure in the early evening, Kashike began to wonder if she'd done the right thing. She could've just handed Raiden his ass and gone on about her life, but she knew it wouldn't have been that easy. She didn't like leaving Nariko there, but he wasn't there for Nariko. If Kashike wasn't back in a few hours, he'd blame her, not her friend. For all she knew, he was gone already. She needed some time to think, to figure out how she was going to handle this.

Lost in thought, she found herself at the old playground she used to frequent as a child. She walked over to one of the swings and sat down. Sliding her sandals around in the dirt she thought back on the past month and everything she'd lost. No "unexplainable" bruises, no worrying about laughing too hard when someone had a hangover, no one belittleing her rank-saying she only got it because she was attractive and making her doubt her abilities. She gritted her teeth, she knew she'd worked hard, and she knew that she deserved the rank of jonin. The high praise her squad got from the Kazekage should be proof of that. Everything she'd lost was worth losing. She was never going back to that place of darkness again.

The sun was setting and a light breeze began to blow. Kashike looked up and watched the clouds make their way across the sky to the horizon.

"My sister used to watch the clouds at night, it was a habit she picked up from her husband. Apparently it's relaxing, but you don't strike me as the cloud-watching type."

The chains on the swing next to her creaked as the Kazekage sat down.

"Odd really, that we should find ourselves back here after so many years."

She turned and smiled, "what better place to start over than here. Maybe this time we can be friends."

He nodded, "I'd like that. I've been meaning to thank you for the ointment, but the time never seemed right. Your approval is important to me, I'd very much like us to be friends."

"Gaara-sama, I'm not the same person I was twelve years ago either. I was so young, none of knew what to believe, our parents were scared..." she stopped, smiling suddenly. "It's too bad really, with your sand you would have been a great goalie."

Gaara chuckled, "see what you missed."

The pair talked for several hours. They discussed life, hopes, dreams, neither paying attention to the growing darkness until the playground lights shut off.

"I've got to get home and go to bed, long day of training tomorrow," Kashike shrugged. Gaara nodded but insisted on walking her home. As they made their way through the streets he smiled to himself when he noticed the figure following them in the shadows.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Gaara's had enough angst in his life, it's time he got a new friend...a new **girl** friend (smirk) but even then he can't seem to escape the angst...who's following them anyways?  
Translations: **Tonikaku**-anyway/anyhow. **Anou**-Well... **Shinpai na**-Don't worry. All other words (except **hai **and honorifics) are curses or insults.

Disclaimer: I can only dream of imitating Masashi Kishimoto's success...

**Chapter: 5**

Gaara and Kashike had just reached her doorstep when a disheveled blonde man stumbled towards them.

"Kashike, you busu!" A bleary eyed Raiden roared. "Here I am waiting for you and you're stepping out on me with this loser?" Raiden's eyes took a moment to focus on Gaara, but once he spotted the tattoo and realized who he was glaring at, he visibly paled. "The bakemono? You're with the bakemono!"

"Damare Raiden!" Kashike growled pulling out a kunai, "The only bakemono here is you. This is the Kazekage, show some respect!"

Raiden sneered and made an elaborate bow.

"Hai, the Kaze_kage_..." his expression was murderous as he locked eyes with Gaara. "You know he's only Kazekage because the council was too terrified to go against him."

Gaara's eyes widened and his nostrils flared as Raiden continued his drunken tirade.

"You know Kashike-_chan_, that mark on his forehead means he only loves himself. I hope you aren't stupid enough to think you mean something to him. Everyone knows the Sabakus are incapable of feeling anything normal." He threw back his head and laughed harshly, "that sister of his and her farce of a marriage. No one here would have her so she had to find a child in Konoha, and that brother...where is the makeup wearing whore lover? I thought he lived up this one's ass!"

Disgusted by what Raiden was saying, Kashike charged him screaming, "Yarou!" and managed to land her kunai in his shoulder. Unfortunately, even drunk his size allowed him to stay on his feet and he threw her to the ground where she landed with a thud. Raiden turned and glared at Gaara once again.

"She's trash, that's why I got rid of her. But if you enjoy sloppy seconds then she's all yours." He laughed bitterly while attempting to turn and walk away. Looking down, he was shocked to see his feet were locked in place by sand.

Gaara motioned with his hand and Raiden was suddenly mere inches from him. The bravado drained from the shinobi's face as he stared in the cold eyes of an enraged Kazekage.

"Anou..." Gaara sighed, "a few years ago, someone like you would have gotten one of two reactions out of me. One, you wouldn't have even had a chance to speak and I would have killed you simply because you were in my way, or two I wouldn't have really cared what you had to say and would have killed you simply for being insolent." The Kazekage rubbed his chin in thought as the sand crawled up the shinobi's back. "Here's the dilemma...I care very much about what you said because you spoke against people I care for very deeply. In fact, I'm quite angry with you." The sand began wrapping tightly around Raiden's neck cutting off his oxygen.

"Mercy..." the terrified chuunin gasped.

"Mercy?" Gaara laughed, "mercy? Tell me, have you ever shown mercy to anyone in your life?"

The question went unanswered as Raiden's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out, emptying his bladder all over the ground. Gaara withdrew his sand and let the man fall.

"Sorry I'm late Otouto-chan, I got stuck in your colon," Kankuro smirked stepping out of the shadows.

"About time." Gaara muttered helping Kashike stand up.

Kankuro shrugged still smirking, "looked like you had everything under control to me. Besides, it's been a while since I saw you scare the piss out of someone." He walked over to Raiden and rolled him over with his foot. "You know, I dated his sister once...fiesty girl, I don't think she'd be happy to find out her brother called her a whore. Then again, Ayame would chop him up and serve him as the day's special...nah, what I'm doing would be considered merciful."

Kashike laughed as Kankuro slung the unconscious drunk over his shoulder.

"Where are you going to do to him?" She asked.

"I've got a new poison on Karasu's blades, and need a target to try it out on. I usually use desert rats, but after what this baka said about my family...I think he qualifies." Kankuro grinned at her, "shinpai na, he'll live. Just barely, but he'll live."

"I must have sand in my ears, because I didn't hear a single thing you just said," Kashike replied.

Kankuro grinned wickedly and he nodded to his brother, "I like this one, don't assign her missions too far away."

Kankuro laughed as he disappeared into the night.

o-o-o

"Gaara-sama," Kashike said breaking the silence. "Those horrible things he said...you know they're not true. You and your family are well respected here, and when we all thought you were dead..." she couldn't finish, so she just smiled sadly. "I can't believe I ever thought I loved that bouzu."

"He's the one that blackened your eye?"

"Hai."

"He's a shinobi?"

"Hai, he's a chuunin."

Gaara frowned, "Not anymore. He'll never lay a hand on another person so long as he lives, Kankuro will see to that." He turned his attenton to the lump on her head and the scrapes on her arms and legs. "Tonikaku, you need to get inside and put some ointment on those injuries, they hurt don't they?"

Kashike smiled and threw her arms around her new friend.

"Having you in my life is better than any ointment," she whispered.

o-o-o**OWARI**o-o-o


End file.
